


The De-Aged Doctor and the Philosopher's Stone

by Whovian101



Series: The De-Aged Doctor [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 10:52:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14447760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovian101/pseuds/Whovian101
Summary: The Doctor and Jack get hit with a de-aging gun, so they wait at Hogwarts until they can be re-aged.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [De-Aged](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/386837) by The Bibliomaniac. 



_ The Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness sprinted across the room, trying to escape the gun blast. The Doctor wrenched the blue TARDIS door open, he and Jack diving in, but they were still caught in the blast. The Doctor rushed to his lab as he began mixing some complicated and ever changing chemical substance that Jack couldn’t understand at all. Jack felt the Doctor inject something into the back of his neck when he wasn’t looking, than visibly injected himself with the same substance. “Doc?” Jack shouted over the ringing in his ears, he felt the room tip, and he dropped to the floor. The last thing he saw was the Doctor, but not the Doctor as he was, it was the Doctor as Jack had first met him, with his big ears and northern accent. _

_ “Just relax Jack.” The Time Lord said, and the world went silent. _   
  



	2. Eleven Years Old

When Jack woke up, he found himself laying on his back on the floor atop a bunch of incredibly familiar fabric. Above him, Jack saw a small face look down into his own. It was a boy, he looked just about eleven years old, with stunning pale blue-green eyes and soft-looking brown hair.

“You alright Jack?” His high pitched voice asked kindly.

“What?” Jack stared at him. He didn’t know this boy, did he? The boy had seemed to expect this, for he handed Jack an elegant silver-rimmed mirror. Jack looked inside it, only to find a small, wide-eyed, brown haired, eleven year-old boy looking back at him,

“It was a de-ageing gun they hit us with.” The boy sighed, as if given a minor inconvenience rather than having been aged down a few hundred years, Jack almost fell down the ramp at his realization.

“Doctor!” 

“What?” The boy turned, his head still tilted just the way the grown Doctor’s head usually tilted when he was curious. 

“Nothing- Just- wow.” The Doctor laughed, but it came out as more of a giggle, which made it incredibly difficult to take the boy seriously. 

“The TARDIS isn’t happy with all this,” The Doctor explained with a sigh, “too many paradoxes, she’s taking us somewhere to camouflage us in until we can figure it out.” Jack just nodded, still slightly in shock.

“What are we going to do?” Jack finally asked, sincerely concerned with the dilemma they had found themselves in.

“I injected you with a substance, but it was incredibly diluted. I needed to do it quickly, so it was rushed. For the meantime, I can’t fly the TARDIS, which is made for six people, with this small child body.” The Doctor said, sounding frustrated for the first time since this began.

“So, where are we, then?” Jack asked when the shaking in the TARDIS stopped, indicating that they had landed. The Doctor bounded to the door and pulled it open, then immediately got slapped in the face with two parchment letters. He closed the door calmly and handed one to Jack. The envelope read:

  
_Mr. J. Harkness_

_ Control Room _

_ TARDIS _

 

Jack opened it curiously, only to find a long letter within that read:

 

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** _

_**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore** _

_ (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) _

 

_ Dear Mr. Harkness, _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

 

_ Term Begins on 1 September. We await your owl.. _

 

_ Yours sincerely, _

_**Minerva McGonagall** _

_**Deputy Headmistress** _

 

Jack gaped at the Doctor as he calmly read his letter. Jack then looked at the supply list the letter came with:

 

_**First-year students will require:** _

 

_**Uniform:** _

_ Three sets of plain work robes (Black) _

_ One plain pointed hat for day wear (Black) _

_ One Pair of protective gloves (Dragonhide or similar) _

_ One winter cloak (Black, silver fastenings) _

_**Please note that all student’s clothes should carry name-tags at all times.** _

 

_**Books:** _

_ The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1  by Miranda Goshawk _

_ A History of Magic  by Bathilda Bagshot _

_ Magical Theory  by Adalbert Waffling _

_ A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch _

_ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi  by Phyllida Spore _

_ Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger _

_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander _

_ The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection  by Quentin Trimble _

 

_**Other Equipment:** _

_ 1 Wand _

_ 1 Caldron (pewter, standard size 2) _

_ 1 set of glass or crystal phials _

_ 1 telescope _

_ 1 set of brass scales _

_ Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat, or a Toad. _

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS** _

 

The Doctor laughed, then turned to Jack, grinned, then pulled a lever on the TARDIS and a fountain of foreign coins fell into a leather pouch he held under it. 

“So, are we doing this then?” Jack asked as the Doctor handed him his own leather pouch of gold coins, the Doctor laughed.

“I’ll send the TARDIS to the Hogwarts grounds so she’ll be there if we need her.” The TARDIS’ hum changed a little, and Jack heard the Doctor murmuring, “No, come on, please. Stop it. We both know that’s a bad idea. But what if-, yes, I know. But after all-, I know but-,  _ fine _ .” He turned back to Jack, scowling. “The TARDIS insists that she’s going to wait three days once we get to school to land. She wants us to ‘settle in’.” The Doctor rolled his eyes, dramatically, acting much like the eleven-year-old boy he looked like.

“Why are we getting settled in?” Jack asked, “Aren’t we just going to go, make the formula for re-aging, then leave?”

“It’s not as simple as that.” The Doctor sighed, “I haven’t a clue how to make it or how we’re even going to get the resources for it. They’re probably not going to let us buy anything it’ll need. I guarantee it’s complicated if not illegal.” Jack nodded, disappointed, yet feeling a slight spark of excitement for the adventure to come.

“Plus, we will need to fit in. Imagine if anyone figured out who we were.”

“Ianto would have a laughing fit.” Jack murmured, suddenly missing the man fiercely.

“Not to mention that we’d be studied and examined and probably experimented on.” The Doctor rolled his eyes, then said, “Grab a trunk of stuff and meet me back here. You’ll need different clothing,” He said, and Jack nodded, ready to get out of these now enormous clothes, “There’s some in the wardrobe that should fit, and anything sentimental you should leave in the TARDIS, she’ll keep it safe.” The Doctor affectionately patted the TARDIS. Jack nodded, and the two boys sprinted off.

Probably an hour later, Jack and The Doctor met in the console room carrying a trunk, each with a shimmering gold-plated name on there; Jack’s had  _ Jack Harkness _ , and the Doctor had his false name,  _ John Smith, _ on his. They exchanged a look, ready to go.

“Alright, alright. I know. I’ll come see you in a few days when you materialize. I know.” The Doctor was stroking the TARDIS as they left, “Allons-y Jack.” He said. Jack rolled his eyes. The Doctor watched sadly as the TARDIS dematerialized, then started grumbling in a language that Jack didn’t understand, but assumed was Gallifreyan,

“You do know I can’t understand you, right?” Jack said, 

“That’s what I was saying!” The Doctor said dramatically, “Now that the TARDIS is a few days ahead of us, I have to speak English!” Jack rolled his eyes,

“Oh the agony.” He said sarcastically, The Doctor grinned and lead him into a small pub on the corner called ‘The Leaky Cauldron.’ He assumed had a perception filter on it, as the Non-Wizards around them seemed completely oblivious to the small pub. The boys entered confidently.

“We’d like a bedroom until September 1st.” The Doctor announced to the man at the desk, the man nodded, 

“Are your parents here?”

“We’re alone.” The Doctor answered. The man raised an eyebrow, but seemed to decide that money was money, and he had them lead to a bedroom. 

The Doctor and Jack put down their trunks and made their way into Diagon Alley.   
  



	3. Diagon Ally

Normally you couldn’t get into the alley without wand, but the Doctor used his Sonic Screwdriver to redistribute the bricks and a large doorway opened in front of them. They rushed into the magnificent alley, there were so many stores, so much to do. They decided a wand took first priority, then they’d get their robes, than their other items, but books would have to wait for last because they both knew the Doctor would spend an eternity in there if he could. They made their way towards the wand shop, when Jack suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Jack?” The Doctor looked curiously at his immortal friend.

“Doctor, we’re not wizards.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Jack.” The Doctor rolled his eyes, “Here, take this.” The Doctor handed Jack a shimmering beaker of golden liquid. Raising an eyebrow, he drank it in one gulp, letting the surprisingly thin liquid slide down his throat.

“Okay, so what was that?” Jack asked.

“All wizards are, are normal humans with a small psychic field. By the 51st century, where you’re from, they’ve all mated with muggles and their psychic field has been dramatically reduced.”

“And you already have the psychic field, because you’re a Time Lord, so you don’t need anything to activate it.” Jack concluded,

“Yep, be it, mine is much more sensitive than theirs, they only have a tiny milligram of what I’ve got, but that’s basically it. What I gave you just increased your sensitivity a bit.” Jack nodded, and they continued on their way to the wand shop. Jack had a childish excitement about him, the bounce in his step further visualizing that. They pushed the door of the shop open and approached the counter. Jack went first; the old wandmaker handed him a wand and said,

“Oakwood, Phoenix core, 10 inches.”

The moment the wand touched Jack’s small hand, it sent a jet of light across the room and broke a lamp, “No, no, no, no!” Ollivander said, and he handed Jack another, then quickly whisked it away before anything else could be broken.

It only took a few more tries before Jack was smiling as his new wand. It was Firwood with a Dragon heartstring core and was 12½ inches long. Jack dropped the coins he owed into Mr. Ollivander’s hands, then grabbed the Doctor’s small, and surprisingly delicate frame, and pushed him in front of the man.

The Doctor went through a lot more wands then Jack did. It was made especially difficult because the Doctor was ambidextrous, meaning he had twice as many options. Finally, a wand of 10 inches made of Maplewood with Phoenix core rested comfortably in the boy’s hand. The Doctor seemed content with this and smiled at Ollivander, “What’s it represent, then?” Ollivander seemed shocked that such a little boy was asking questions such as these.

“Well, Maplewood tends to choose wizards who are by nature travellers and explorers. They prefer an ambitious wizards who like fresh challenges and regular changes of scene. It is a beautiful and desirable wood because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers.” The Doctor nodded, thoughtfully, soaking up the information presented to him.

“What about the Phoenix core?” Mr. Ollivander seemed quite pleased with the Doctor’s curiosity and desire to learn.

“The Phoenix core is the rarest core. They are capable of the greatest range of magic, showing the most initiative qualities and sometimes act on their own accord. It is hard to win their allegiance.”

“And the length, does that have something to do with height?” Mr. Ollivander seemed overjoyed.

“It does!” He exclaimed, “Judging by your wand size, you will most likely be approximately 5’8. The Doctor nodded, clearly aware that there was nothing approximate about it, as that was the height of his first body when it was fully grown.

“And what about Jack’s wand?” He asked, Jack was in his chair twirling his wand of boredom, just wanting to go explore more of Diagon Alley.

“He has Firwood, which is known as ‘the survivor’s wand’ because it comes from the most resilient of trees.” The Doctor almost laughed, he looked at Jack with an amused look. Jack just rolled his eyes, of course he got the one that represented immortality. “And his core was Dragon heartstring, which tend to produce the wands with the most power and are capable of the most flamboyant spells. They tend to learn quickly, but it tends to be the easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, so be careful.” Mr. Ollivander warned darkly, “It also seems the most prone to accidents and is somewhat temperamental.”

“Flamboyant spells, huh Doctor?” Jack winked, “I think we could do something with that.”  
“Jack!”

Jack noticed that Mr. Ollivander seemed to be in a much happier mood since their entrance.

“I was thinking,” The Doctor said thoughtfully, “I haven’t a clue how this’ll affect us hormonally.”

“That’s new, you not knowing something.” Jack grinned.

“Well, believe it or not, this has never actually happened to me before.” The Doctor shot back.

The Doctor and Jack were soon fitted and paid for their new Hogwarts robes, and so made their way into various shops, picking up their cauldrons, dragon hide gloves, crystal phials, telescopes, and brass scales. It was getting late by the time they finished, so they decided to finish shopping the next morning, and returned to the Leaky Cauldron. The Doctor passed out on the bed, Jack lay down on the other side letting his thoughts run late into the night.

When morning arrived, Jack and the Doctor made their way down to the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, and found the required textbooks, and more. Much more. The Doctor found an incredible amount of books, with more advanced subjects than even Jack could fathom. They returned to their bedroom late that night and prepared for the train ride to school tomorrow. By ten at night, Jack said he was going to bed, he looked at the Doctor who was reading all the books he’d gotten. “I’m going to bed. You coming?” he asked,

“No.” The Doctor responded, I may be a kid, but I’m still a Time Lord. I only need a few hours of sleep.” Jack shrugged.

“Whatever you want.” He then smiled, “Save some books for school.” He laughed at the Time Lord, the Doctor grinned,

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  



	4. The Hogwarts Express

When the next morning came, Jack and the Doctor found themselves pushing their trunks through Kings Cross Station. The Doctor strode confidently to the wall between platforms 9 and 10. He sent a manic grin towards Jack, and cried out. “Allons-y!” He sprinted into the wall. Jack watched, momentarily stunned, as the Doctor’s small figure disappeared. He began to walk, then jog, and then he was running, running at a wall that he could tell was solid. He shut his eyes. He then peaked them open when the impact with the wall that he had been expecting did not happen. He gazed around, he was on a new platform, with a big train labeled: HOGWARTS EXPRESS sat. His eyes rested on a bemused Doctor. “Are you going to stand there all day?” The Doctor asked, pulling Jack out of the way as another couple of people ran through the barrier, nearly running into Jack. 

The boys stepped onto the scarlet train, looking for a place to sit. They quickly found two other first-years, a ginger boy and with a boy with messy black hair.

“Mind if we join you?” The Doctor asked, smiling at the boys. They shrugged,

“Sure.” Jack and the Doctor sat down, 

“Hey there, Captain Jack Harkness.” Jack gave the boys a wink, earning a sharp elbow to the ribs.

“I’m Ron Weasley.” The ginger boy gave a small smile,  
“I’m Harry Potter.” The Doctor smiled,

“John Smith.” Ron turned back to Harry, presumably resuming their conversation from before the Doctor and Jack had entered. “But I’ve actually got five brothers.” He looked a little gloomy for some reason. “I’m the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I have a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left – Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy’s a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they’re really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it’s no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I’ve got Bill’s old robes, Charlie’s old wand, and Percy’s old rat. Ron reached into his robes and pulled out a fat, grey rat. 

“His name’s Scabbers and he’s useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn’t aff– I mean, I got Scabbers instead. Ron’s ears went pink, and he looked out the window. The Doctor looked at Scabbers. Trying to talk to him, but the rat refused to say anything. He looked at Jack,

“Scabbers won’t talk to me.” He sounded not unlike a child, telling on his friend.

“Well, he is a rat.”

“I speak rat, Jack. And there’s something else, his psychic energy’s off. Something’s not right about him.” Jack just shrugged. 

“What about you?” Harry asked the Doctor and Jack.

“What about us?” Jack asked,

“What about your families?” 

“Dead.” The Doctor said somewhat flatly, emotion leaking out of his words,

“Mine too.” Jack said, though it was technically a lie, as they hadn’t been born yet.

“You’re both orphans too?” Harry looked at them, “How did they– I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.” Jack just nodded,

“My homeland was invaded.” There was a nod, they turned to the Doctor,

“What about you?”

“Oh, no one wants to hear about me, what about you?”

“Oh, you don’t know?” Ron asked,

“Nope.” The Doctor said, popping the ‘p’,

“My parents were killed by Voldemort.”

“ _You said you-know-who’s-name!_ ” Ron sounded both shocked and impressed. Harry pulled up his hair and revealed his lightning scar. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned Harry’s forehead.  
“What is that?” Ron was pointing at the sonic,

“Sonic Screwdriver.” The Doctor looked at the readings,  
“Ooh, this is interesting.”

“What is it?” Harry was looking at the Doctor with fixation,

“It’s a link, an additional layer of psychic energy connected to another being.”

“What?” All three of them looked at him. Then, suddenly, from behind them, outside the corridor, a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their compartment door and asked,

“Anything off the cart dears?” Harry leapt to his feet, but Ron murmured something about having brought sandwiches. Harry bought some of everything. 

“Want some?” Harry offered some to Ron, the Doctor, and Jack. Ron immediately dropped his sandwich.

“What are these?” Harry asked after a few minutes, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. “They’re not  _ really  _ frogs, are they?” 

“No,” Ron said, “But see what the card is. I’m missing Agrippa.”

“What?”

“Oh, of course, you wouldn’t know – Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect – famous witches and wizards. I’ve got about five hundred, but I haven’t got Agrippa or Ptolemy.” Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. 

“So  _ this  _ is Dumbledore!” Harry said, the Doctor picked the card up. It showed an older man wearing half-moon glasses. He had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round-faced boy came in, looking tearful.

“Sorry,” he said, “But have you seen a toad at all?” When they shook their heads, he wailed, “I’ve lost him! He keeps getting away from me!”

“He’ll turn up.” Harry said, 

“Yes…” The boy said miserably, “Well, if you see him…” He left. 

“Don’t know why he’s so bothered,” Ron began saying, “If I’d brought a toad, I’d lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can’t talk.” He looked down at the snoozing rat, “He might have died and you wouldn’t know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn’t work. I’ll show you, look…” He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. “Unicorn hair’s nearly poking out.” Ron grumbled, “Anyway –” He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new, recently ironed Hogwarts robes. 

“Has anyone seen a toad?” She asked, “Neville’s lost one.”

“We already told him we haven’t seen it.” Ron said, but the girl wasn’t listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.

“Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see it, then.” She sat down, leaving Ron a little taken aback,

“Er – all right.” He cleared his throat,

“ _ Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow. _ ” He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep. The Doctor pulled out his wand and said,

“Let me try.” Ron nodded, ears slightly pink, as the Doctor pointed his wand at Scabbers,

“ _ Fiet Flavo. _ ” A jet of yellow light flew out of the Doctor’s wand and hit Scabbers, whose fur suddenly became yellow. They stared at him.

“How’d you know how to do that?” The girl asked, “I’ve never heard of that spell.” 

“I made it up.” The Doctor shrugged,

“What?” 

“Most spells come from Latin or Greek, so I just said, ‘become yellow’ in Latin, and he turned yellow.” There as a silence.  
“Well, I’ve tried a few basic spells, just for practice, and it’s all worked for me. Nobody in my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve heard.”

“Oh, I hear Ilvermorny brilliant.” The Doctor said, “The sorting makes a bit more sense, though there are many more students.”

“What’s Ilvermorny?” Harry asked,

“It’s the American wizarding school.” The girl said.

“Oh.”

“Well, I’ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough. What have you read?” 

“I’ve read all the books.”

“For our year?”

“For all seven years.”

“What?” she raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing the Time Lord. 

“I’m Hermione Granger by the way,” She stuck her hand out, “Who are you?”

“John Smith.” The Doctor shook her hand.

“Captain Jack Harkness.” Jack winked and the Doctor sent him a look.

“What?”

“Drop the Captain.”

“Fine.” He turned back to Hermione, “Jack Harkness.” He said with a grin, earning him another elbow.

“Er – all right, then.” She looked expectantly at Ron and Harry.

“I’m Ron Weasley.” Ron muttered.

“Harry Potter.” Harry said.

“Are you really?” Hermione gasped, “I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you’re in  _ Modern Magical History  _ and  _ The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts  _ and  _ Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century _ .” 

“Am I?” Harry looked slightly dazed,

“Goodness, didn’t you know? I’d have found out everything I could if it was me. Do any of you know what House you’ll be in? I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…”

“I’ll probably be in Ravenclaw.” The Doctor shrugged, knowing it was more wishful thinking,

“You’re totally going to be a Gryffindor and you know it.” Jack said, “I’ll probably be a Slytherin.” The Doctor shrugged,

“Anyway, we’d better go and look for Neville’s toad. You should all change, you know, I expect we’ll be there soon.” Hermione left, talking Neville with her.

“Whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s no in it.” Ron grumbled, He threw his wand back into his trunk. “Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud.”

“What House are your brothers in?” Asked Harry,

“Gryffindor.” Ron said. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. “Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don’t know what they’ll say if I’m not. I don’t suppose Ravenclaw  _ would _ be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.”

“You’ll probably be in Gryffindor.” The Doctor said knowingly, “It tends to run in families, and Slytherin is for the sly and cunning, no offence, but you don’t strike me as sly or cunning.” Ron nodded, seemingly slightly relieved.

“That’s the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?” Harry asked,

“Yes, but not all Slytherins are bad people. Merlin was in Slytherin, so was Andromeda Tonks, a well known Auror.” There was a pause, Ron was nodding.

“So, what do your older brothers do now that they’ve left, anyway?” Harry asked, breaking the silence.

“Charlie’s in Romania studying dragons, and Bill’s in Africa doing something for Gringotts,” Ron said, “Did you hear about Gringotts? It’s been all over the  _ Daily Prophet _ , but I don’t suppose you get that with the Muggles – someone tried to rob a high security vault.”

“What was in it?” Jack asked with interest.

“That’s the thing, nothing was there. They haven’t caught the wizard who did it. My dad said it must’ve been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don’t think they took anything. ‘Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who’s behind it.” Suddenly, three boys entered the compartment, all three of them looking straight at Harry.

“Is it true?” the boy in the middle who was pale and had slick blonde hair asked, “They’re saying all down the train that Harry Potter’s in this compartment. So it’s you, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” said Harry, who was looking at the two boys on either side of the boy, who strongly resembled bodyguards.

“Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle,” said the pale boy, gesturing to each in turn. “And my name’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco looked at him, “Think my name’s funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford.”

“Oi!” The Doctor stood up, and Draco looked at him,

“And who might you be?

“John Smith.”

“That doesn’t sound very pure-blood, does it?” He smirked,

“What’s blood-status have to do with anything?”

“Mudblood are you?”

“It wouldn’t matter if I was. I’m a bit more than you think, and you might want to think very carefully before insulting me or any of my friends.”

“Oh yeah? You can’t do anything to me. My father works at the Ministry of Magic, and he will give you hell.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I don’t answer to the Ministry. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“Then who do you answer to?”  
“No one.”

“Doctor,” Jack placed a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. Draco scoffed,

“He’s no doctor, but he may need one when I’m finished with him.”

“Watch yourself, Draco.” Jack warned,

“And who are you to tell me who to look out for? I think I can handle myself. I don’t need to be weary of Mudbloods.”

“That’s a fowl thing to call someone.” Ron made a face,

“So what, Weasley?” Draco turned to Harry, “You’ll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” Draco extended his hand to shake Harry’s, but Harry didn’t take it,

“I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks.” He said coolly. 

“I’d be careful if I were you, Potter,” Draco said, “Unless you’re a bit politer, you’ll go the same way as your parents. They didn’t know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, that Hagrid, and these Mudbloods,” He indicated to the Doctor and Jack, “and it’ll rub off on you.” Harry, Ron, Jack, and the Doctor were all on their feet,

“Say that again,” Ron said,

“Oh, you’re going to fight us, are you?” Draco sneared,

“Unless you get out now.” Harry said,

“But we don’t feel like leaving, do we boys?” He laughed, and the Doctor stepped up to them. 

“Now, Draco, you want to think long and hard about this. I may not look like much, but you are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you keep this up.” Draco laughed again.

“Clearly Potter’s not the only one who needs to be put in his place. You’d better watch your back, Smith.” And with that, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle swiveled on the spot and exited the compartment. There was a pause,

“Why did you call him a doctor?” Harry asked Jack,

“That’s my nickname.” The Doctor answered for him,

“Why?” Harry asked,

“It just is.”

“Okay, then.”

“We should change into our robes.” The Doctor finally said, earning a nod from Jack, Harry, and Ron.


	5. The Sorting

A voice echoed through the train: “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.” The Doctor, Harry, Ron, and Jack all joined the crowd gathering in the corridor. The train slowed down and finally stopped. Students pushed their way to the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and a loud, booming voice called, “Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here! All right there, Harry?” A large man, probably a half-giant, asked as they approached, “C’mon, follow me – anymore firs’ years? Mind yer step, now! Firs’ years, follow me.” They followed the man down a steep narrow path. The sun was now setting and nobody spoke much as they walked, and the half-giant said, “Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec, jus’ round this bend here.” There was a loud

“Oooooh!” The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, aws a vault castle with many turrets and towers. “No more’n four to a boat!” the large man called. Harry, Ron, the Doctor, and Jack got into a boat. “Everyone in?” the man called, “Right then – FORWARD!” The fleet of boats moved all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, and the Doctor was leaning down over the water, watching the luminescent creatures beneath the lake. 

“That’s Hagrid.” Harry began saying to Ron and Jack, pointing to the half-giant. 

“Heads down!” Hagrid yelled as the first boats reached the cliff, they all beant their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. “Oi, you there! Is this your toad?” Called Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

“Trevor!” cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands for Hagrid to deposit the toad into. They then clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid’s lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge oak front door. “Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?” Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door. The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and didn’t look like someone you should cross, but her eyes were kind and affectionate. “The firs’ years, Professor Mcgonagall,” said Hagrid. 

“Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.” Professor Mcgonagall said, pulling the door wide. “Welcome to Hogwarts.” She said, “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common-room.

“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.” She gave a smile, then said, “I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly.” There was a lot of whispering, and all of a sudden, a couple people screamed as twenty pearly-white transparent ghosts flew in.

“Evolution of the gelth.” The Doctor whispered to Jack who gazed at them, transfixed. They were admittedly, much more pleasant than the gelth.

“New students!” A large monk-like ghost wearing a ruff and tights exclaimed, “I’m the Fat Friar! I hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know.”

“Move along now! The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin.” Professor Mcgonagall returned and the ghosts dispersed. “Now form a line and follow me.” She said, and she pulled open the large door and stepped into the great hall. The room was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting. The ceiling was too high to make out, presumably enchanted to reflect the sky. Most kids were in awe, but the Doctor and Jack looked at each other and shrugged, having seen much more than these children, though, it was still quite impressive. They followed Professor Mcgonagall across the floor, looking around at all of the students. They stood in a queue as Professor Mcgonagall stepped forwards with a large scroll of parchment. Next to her on a stool was a brown, patched, frayed, old, hat. The hat twitched, and a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing.

 

“ _ Oh, you may not think I’m pretty, _

_ But don’t judge on what you see, _

_ I’ll eat myself if you can find _

_ A smarter hat than me. _

_ You can keep your bowlers black, _

_ Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_ For I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_ And I can cap them all. _

_ There’s nothing hidden in your head _

_ The Sorting Hat can’t see, _

_ So try me on and I will tell you _

_ Where you ought to be. _

_ You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_ Where dwell the brave of heart, _

_ Their daring nerve, and chivalry _

_ Set Gryffindors apart; _

_ You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_ Where they are just and loyal, _

_ Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_ And unafraid of toil; _

_ Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_ If you’ve a ready mind, _

_ Where those of wit and learning, _

_ Will always find their kind; _

_ Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_ You’ll make your real friends, _

_ Those cunning folk use any means _

_ To achieve their ends. _

_ So put me on! Don’t be afraid! _

_ And don’t get in a flap! _

_ You’re in safe hands (though I have none) _

_ For I’m a Thinking Cap! _ ”

 

The hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

“So we’ve just got to try on the hat!” Ron whispered to Harry, the Doctor, and Jack, “I’ll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll.”

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.” Professor Mcgonagall adjusted her scroll, “Abbott, Hannah!” A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. There was a moment’s pause, then the hat shouted,

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The table to the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down with the rest of the Hufflepuffs. 

“Bones, Susan!” Professor Mcgonagall called out.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat shouted again, and Susan sat herself down next to Hannah.

“Boot, Terry!”

“RAVENCLAW!” The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. 

“Brocklehurst, Mandy!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Brown Lavender!”

“GRYFFINDOR!” The table on the far left exploded with cheers.

“Bulstrode, Millicent!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Finch-Fletchley, Justin!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Finnigan, Seamus!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Granger, Hermione!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Harkness, Jack!” Jack gave the Doctor a wink and walked up to the stool confidently.

“SLYTHERIN!” There were cheers from the Slytherin table.

“Longbottom, Neville!” A small boy fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with him, then finally cried out,

“GRYFFINDOR!” Neville ran off still wearing the hat and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to Professor Mcgonagall.

“MacDougal, Morag!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Malfoy, Draco!” Draco swaggered forward. The hat barely touched his head when it screamed,

“SLYTHERIN!” It continued like this, until:

“Potter, Harry!” There were whispers. Harry sat on the stool anxiously, clearly having a mental conversation.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat finally shouted. Then, 

“Smith, John!” The Doctor walked up, allowing his false smile to slide, but he worried. He slowly placed the hat on his head, and immediately felt the telepathic connection.

_ Oh! You’re new. _ The hat was laughing,  _ I’ve never gotten someone like you before. _ The Doctor was tempted to pull back up his mental walls that he had torn down for the hat, but thought against it.  _ You have many qualities of a Ravenclaw. You are more clever than anyone I’ve ever seen. You are smarter than every professor here. Your wisdom is much beyond my own, but you tend to act impulsively when those you care about are in danger. I am lead to think that you would do well in Hufflepuff. You have worked very hard to get to where you are, you are loyal to the human race, and fairness is very important to you. But your hands are far from clean. You also share many attributes of a Slytherin, you are very much a leader, making your own rules as you go. Though you may show a slight bias for this House because of your friend’s placement, but you are far from cunning. Lastly, you are much like a Gryffindor, for you have so much courage, bravery. Your determination is beyond measure than anyone I’ve ever seen. You may not like it, but you are a warrior. You fight, and you destroy. And yet, you trust my opinion. Very well. I will place you where I think you belong. _

“GRYFFINDOR!” The Doctor looked around, they clearly had taken a long time to come to this conclusion, for everyone was murmuring. The Doctor placed the hat back on the stool and walked over to the Gryffindor table with Harry.

“Wow.” A tall ginger boy whispered, “I don’t think anyone’s ever taken that long. 

“Yeah, It must have been a half hour.” and identical boy next to him said,

“Fred Weasley.” The first boy said,

“George Weasley.” The other said.

“27 minutes and 34 seconds.” The Doctor said, still grateful that even as a child, his time sense was intact. “And I’m John Smith.” The Professor cleared her throat and finally said,

“Thomas, Dean!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Turpin, Lisa!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Weasley, Ronald!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Zabini, Blaise!”

“SLYTHERIN!” They watched the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore stand up. Professor Dumbledore, while old, seemed to give an impression of great energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles, and a nose that had clearly been broken at some point. 

“Welcome!” He smiled to the students, “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are; Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!” He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.

“Is he – a bit, mad?” Harry asked another ginger boy near them, whom the Doctor soon figured out was named Percy.

“Mad?” said Percy airily. “He’s a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?” The dishes in front of them were now piled with food. 

At last, when the deserts disappeared, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again, and the hall fell silent. “Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

“First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.” The headmaster’s eyes flashed in the direction of Fred and George. “I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

“Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch.

“And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.” The Doctor looked at Jack from across the hall with a mischievous look on his face.

Once the announcements had finished, and the students had been dismissed to their rooms, they followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. 

At the very end of a corridor hung a portrait of a woman in a pink silk dress. “Password?” She said,

“Caput Draconis,” Translating to ‘the dragon’s head.’ in Latin.

“They do use a lot of Latin, here. Don’t they?” The Doctor said to Ron and Harry, who both just shrugged. The portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squishy armchairs. Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase and they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. The Doctor found himself in a room with Ron, Harry, Neville, and Dean Thomas. Harry, Ron, Neville, and Dean all got into their pajamas, as did the Doctor, but as the other boys collapsed into bed, the Doctor sat down and pulled a copy of  _ Advanced Potion-Making _ by Libatius Borage and started to read. After a short while, all the other boys had fallen asleep, and the Doctor was left on his own, thinking about what the Sorting Hat said. Warrior. Blood on his hands, making his own rules. His heart dropped. Is this what he was now?


	6. Potions

The Doctor made his way across the room to the Slytherin table where Jack was sitting for breakfast. “Morning Doc.”

“Morning.” The had begun to talk, when a tall seventh-year boy with thick black hair walked up to them and pointed a boney finger accusingly at the Doctor.

“You can’t talk to him.” He hissed at Jack,

“Why not?” The Doctor asked accusingly, not liking the House dynamic.

“You are a Gryffindor.” He drawled, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yes, you are very observant. And you are a Slytherin. You didn’t answer my question. Why not?” He watched the boy’s face twist, then he pushed the Doctor. The Doctor stumbled and fell on the ground, still not quite used to his new size. He had shrunk and grown with each new regeneration, but it had never been this dramatic of a change. He stood back up and picked up the schedule he was given, turning his back on the boy. Jack looked at his schedule to compare as the older boy sauntered away. 

“We have potions together.” The Doctor smiled, “And Flying lessons, and Defence Against the Dark Arts.” They smiled, it could have been worse, and walked to their potions class together.

The class started with Professor Snape sauntering in dramatically. “You are here to learn the subtle science and art of potion-making,” Professor Snape began, he spoke very quietly, but still managed to command the silence of the whole class. “As there is little foolish wand-wavering here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnare the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren’t the big bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.” The Doctor found Professor Snape’s enthusiastic description slightly humorous, 

“Potter!” the professor’s eyes locked onto the Harry, “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” The Doctor’s hand shot into the air, as did Hermione’s. 

“I don’t know, sir.” Harry said, and the professor’s lips curled into a sneer,

“Tut, tut – fame clearly isn’t everything.” He ignored the Doctor’s and Hermione’s hands. “Let’s try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?” Once again, The Doctor’s and Hermione’s hands were in the air.

“I don’t know, sir.” Harry repeated.

“Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?” Harry continued to stare into Professor Snape’s eyes, drawing the Doctor’s attention. He looked in those eyes, as you could see a lot from someone’s eyes. Professor Snape’s eyes told of great loss and a broken heart. And hatred. So much hatred for this boy, but why? The Professor continued, “What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?” At this, Hermione stood up, hand in the air. The Doctor, having gone through the Academy, knew better than to stand, but his hand was still held high. 

“I don’t know,” Harry said quietly, “I think Hermione and John do though, why don’t you try them?”

“Sit down.” Professor Snape snapped at Hermione. “For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren’t you all copying that down?” There was a scrambling for quills and parchment, and over the noise, Professor Snape said, “And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter.” 

They soon were put into pairs, the Doctor and Jack paired up, and were set to mix up a simple potion to cure boils. The students began to get to work, but the Doctor just stared at the instructions,

“Doctor?” Jack asked, but he was not the only one to notice his lack of work.

“Smith!” Professor Snape snapped at him, “Would you care to explain why you aren’t working?” The Doctor’s eyes peeled from the instructions to look at the professor, 

“I’m trying to figure out why you gave us the wrong potion.”

“Wrong?” Snape’s eyebrows knitted together,

“Well, dangerous and inefficient in any case.”

“Explain yourself.”

“Start with the snake fangs for example,” The Doctor began, “They’re only added for the calcium and the oxidoreductases. The ions of the former help desiccate the boil. The latter, when strengthened and specialized for  _ Staphylococcus aureus _ via magic, helps the body fight off the infection. Everything else in the snake fang is not only useless, but, in some cases, a detriment, as seen by its violent reaction to the keratin if the porcupine quills are added too soon.” Snape opened his mouth to interrupt, but the Doctor continued, not giving him a chance. “If you replace the snake fangs with pure calcium, or even sodium chloride come to think of it, and an oxidoreductase such as catalase or L-amino-acid oxidase, which actually are in snake venom, or if you prefer, regular isopropyl alcohol would work just as well and is easy enough to get, you would have eliminated all the extraneous ingredients. Without these ingredients, the dried nettles become pointless,  since they are only added to absorb the useless and poisonous parts of the snake fangs.” Professor Snape frowned, then slowly sank into his desk chair and started taking notes. “Without nettles, you can add fewer slugs, since you no longer have to compensate for them being absorbed. With fewer slugs you don’t have to worry as much about the disulfide bonds within the keratin reacting poorly. Thus you don’t have to worry about possibly adding the porcupine quills too soon and destabilizing the bonds.” The Doctor frowned, reviewing the changes he's made, then said, “Of course, I should point out that if you do use isopropyl alcohol, you’d have to change your base liquid, since alcohol won’t mix well with oil. That’s pretty simple though; simply use water instead of oil. Granted, this means that the finished product is too thin to slather on a boil, but you can add cornstarch until it’s thick enough. This changes the final product from an ointment to a poultice, but it works just as well. There are, of course, other modifications you can make to both simplify the process to make it more efficient, but at this point you get the idea.” Professor Snape looked like he might faint.

“Mr. Smith I-” He thought for a moment, “I would like you to create the potion as written, as this class requires practical capabilities as well as theoretical knowledge.” The Doctor nodded in agreement and started the potion. Professor Snape paid close attention to the Doctor’s flawless work, and to his amazement, every so often, the Doctor leaned over to correct or make a suggestion to Jack, a Slytherin.

At the end of class, the Doctor’s potion was perfect, and Jack’s was pretty close as well. After packing up, Harry mentioned to the Doctor that he had gotten an invitation for tea from Hagrid and was wondering if he’d like to come with him and Ron.

Before he knew it, the Doctor found himself, Jack, Harry, and Ron at Hagrid’s door. When Harry knocked on the door, there was a frantic scrambling from inside and several booming barks. Then, Hagrid’s voice rang out, “ _ Back,  _ Fang –  _ back! _ ” Hagrid’s face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. “Hang on,” he said. “ _ Back,  _ Fang.” He let the four of them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. There was only one room inside. Hams and peasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. “Make yerselves at home,” Hagrid said, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at the Doctor,

“Hello.” The Doctor smiled at the boarhound, who cocked its head,

“ _ Hello. _ ”

“I’m the Doctor, who are you?”

“ _ I’m Fang. _ ”

“How’d he get your name right, then? That’s unusual.” 

“ _ I just suggested it to him. _ ” There was a pause, then the Doctor jumped up saying, “Oh! Your a Telepatický!”

“What?” Harry, Ron, Jack, and Hagrid were all staring at the Doctor, “What’s a Tepatiski?” Ron asked,

“ Telepatický.” The Doctor informed knowingly, “It’s a species from Chlandé Místo. They subtly place suggestions into a subconscious. Normally they’re a bit more – destructive, though.”

“Er – all right, then.” Hagrid raised an eyebrow at the Doctor who began having a rather pleasant conversation with Fang.


	7. The Duel

Since the first day of school, the Doctor noticed that Draco Malfoy seemed to want to make his life as difficult as possible. This was made even more obvious when one afternoon, the Doctor was approached by Draco in the library. “Hello again Mudblood.” He snickered, The Doctor said nothing, but Harry, Ron, and Jack who were sitting with him stood up. So, before anything could escalate, the Doctor looked him in the eye and said,

“What do you want, Draco?”

“I heard you gained Snape’s favor.”

“Why do you care?”

“You’re a Gryffindor. Worse, you’re a Mudblood Gryffindor.” The Doctor stood up,

“What do you want Draco, because if you don’t leave, I will make you.”

“I’d take you on any time.” Draco scoffed, “Tonight, if you want. Wizards duel. Wands only – no contact. What’s the matter? Never heard of a wizard’s duel before?”

“Of course he has.” Ron had wheeled around, 

“I’m his second.” Jack piped up,

“Then you’re as bad as the blood-trator Weasleys.”

“Oi!” The Doctor stormed up to Draco, “I’ll have you know, that I don’t fight. I don’t use weapons. But that means I have other means to take you down, and if I don’t like it, then it will stop.”

“Scarred, Smith?”

“Fine!” The Doctor roared, “Midnight, don’t be late.”

“In the trophy room.” Draco said, there was a nod of agreement, and Draco swiveled away. The Doctor spun to Jack, eyes still full of anger,

“What’s a second?”

“They take over if the first dueler dies.”

Jack found the Doctor in the library late that night, hands over his eyes, curled up in a ball. “Doctor?” The Doctor looked up slowly, 

“It’s a fight, Jack.” The Doctor said, as if cursing himself, “It’s a proper fight. I don’t fight. I don’t resort to violence.”

“It might be the kid hormones. Making you more aggressive.” The Doctor nodded in agreement, that wouldn’t be impossible, if not incredibly likely.

“It’s just, the last time I felt like this…” The Doctor didn’t need to finish his sentence for Jack to know what happened. 

The Doctor didn’t really expect Draco to show up in the trophy room to meet him,, yet here he was, staring back at him. “Mudblood.” Draco and Crabbe sneered at the Doctor and Jack, “I didn’t think you’d show up.” 

“Yet, here I am.”

“I expect you know how to duel, or do you need a lesson on that too?”

“I know how to duel.” The Doctor said calmly, “But I want to give you this first warning, you don’t want me as an enemy. I don’t want to fight you, but one warning is all you get.” There was a pause, then Draco started laughing,

“Like I would be afraid of you.” The Doctor and Draco stood, face to face. The bowed to each other, spun around, took their strides, 

“One… two… three!” The two boys spun around and cast their spells,

“Crucio!” Draco shouted,

“Protego!” The Doctor countered, having not expected the small boy to use that spell, and the shield did nothing to stop the curse from taking effect. The Doctor felt pain shoot through his small body, more intense than a blast from a Dalek. It was all-consuming and he was almost positive his head was about to burst with pain; he was about to regenerate. He was sure of this. Any moment a golden light, but that never came, and the pain intensified. He saw Jack being knocked to the ground by Crabbe. There was a piercing scream, with a voice the Doctor barely recognized as his own. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the pain was gone, and the Doctor was left panting on the ground. He looked up at Draco, fear and regret filling the boy’s eyes, he had taken it too far and he knew it. A door opened, and the Doctor tried to sit up to see who it was, but it proved useless, and he felt the door of consciousness close.

The Doctor woke to the back of his head being smashed against something hard. Then again, and again. He tried to jump up, and nearly fell down the staircase he was being dragged up. He looked at an exhausted Jack, “What?” The Doctor asked, unsure how to finish the sentence.

“You were knocked out. Had to drag you away, nearly got caught by Filch. What spell did Malfoy use?”

“The Cruciatus Curse.” The Doctor stood up, swaying a little with the sudden movement, but pushing Jack’s hand away as he was offered help.

“What does it do?”

“It’s a tool of the Dark Arts, and one of the three Unforgivable Curses. It’s one of the most powerful and sinister spells known to wizardkind. When cast successfully, the curse inflicts intense and excruciating pain on the victim.” The Doctor recited in a disgusted tone, “But it doesn’t matter. He didn’t mean to go that far. You should get back to your dormitory.” Before Jack could respond, they rounded the corner to see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

“There you are!” Hermione cried, “I can not believe that you did this!”

“What?” The Doctor looked at Hermione, still a bit dazed from his recent encounter,

“We went looking for you because Ron and Harry were stupidly trying to come and  _ spectate _ your duel with Malfoy. I told them not to because I knew they would lose even more points for Gryffindor. I went after them, but the portrait closed behind me, and the fat lady’s not there. Neville was already outside the portrait, waiting for her to come back because he’s forgotten the password  _ again _ .” 

“I can get us back through the portrait hole. Jack, why don’t you go back to your dormitory.” Jack gave a reluctant nod, and began to walk away, but not before turning, giving the Doctor a wink, and saying,

“Nighty-night Doc.” The Doctor rolled his eyes, and Hermione began to lead the way back to the Gryffindor dormitories. The five Gryffindors then heard the sound of Filch cursing, and making his way to where they were.

“We’ve got to hide.” Ron hissed, pulling them onto a staircase that began to move. It stopped at a doorway, and the Doctor unlocked it with a quick buzz from his sonic screwdriver. 

“What was _that_?” Hermione asked as they closed the door behind them.  
“Sonic screwdriver.”

“What? Is it some sort of weapon?” The Doctor frowned,

“No, it’s a screwdriver that’s sonic.”

“Why?” They continued down the corridor they were in, and the Doctor then knew where they were.

“We’re in the forbidden corridor on the third floor.” Harry whispered, and the Doctor now knew why it was forbidden; they were looking straight into the eyes of an enormous three-headed dog. The noses twitched and quivered and the drooling mouths had saliva hanging down in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. The Doctor gave a smile, and took a step forward,

“Hello then, and who might you be?”

_ Who are you that knows my tongue? Not even kind Hagrid knows. _

“I know many things.”

_ As do I, and you smell different, as did Hagrid. But you smell not of human, nor of giant. You smell of nothing I have ever come across. Who are you? _

“Oh, I’m a bit of an outsider.”

_ Where do you come from? Where is your home? _

“I’m sort of, well, homeless. Where are you from, what’s your name?”

_ I am from the land of Contritum Somnia. My name is Ejectus, and you haven’t answered my question. Where are you from? _

“Gallifrey.”

_ Time Lord. _

“Yes.”

_ And where are the Time Lords now? They were always so pompous, so afraid of change. And they are gone, leaving only the defects behind. _

“Defects?”

_ Yes. You were a rebel, Doctor. I now know who you are. The last of the Time Lords. A madman. _

“I am not mad. Well, only a bit. But I did what I had to do to stop the war.”

_ Ah, but at what a cost. I am now completed with your presence. Do not bring it upon me again. You may know me, but I know a fair share of you. Beware. I will not take you as kindly the next time we meet. _ The Doctor turned, signaling for the rest of them to leave with him.

“How did you talk the that dog?” Hermione asked, 

“I speak Cerberus.”

“That’s ridiculous. Don’t be daft.” The Doctor gave a shrug, Hermione paused, then said,

“What’s Gallifrey?”

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is getting back to the dormitory before Filch gets us.”

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing that concerns you.”


	8. The Mirror of Erised

The next morning, the Doctor, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jack found themselves glaring at a gloating Draco Malfoy, who, once having noticed the Doctor’s arrival, walked up smugly and asked, “Something the matter, Mudblood?”

“Why do you ask, Draco?” The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’ve just been everyone know that I beat you in a duel. You talk like you’re all that, but you’re nothing but a pathetic, lonesome, Mudblood.”

“You only won because you’re the child of a death eater.” Draco’s eyes widened,

“How dare you-”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know. You used an unforgivable curse on an assumed-to-be eleven year-old boy. That spell could have got you sent to Azkaban. Only the child of a death eater would have known how to cast that spell.”

“Like you would know, Mudblood.”

“You know, that’s a quite fowl thing to call someone.”

“You’re only saying that because you are one. If you were a pure-blood like me, you wouldn’t care.” Draco scoffed.

“Who told you I was a Muggle-born?”

“You.”

“No I didn’t. In fact, I’m more pure-blood than you.” Draco’s grin dropped.

“I’m as pure-blood as they get.”

“No, you’re not. My psychic link is thousands of times stronger than yours.”

“Psychic link? What does that even mean? Is that what you think magic is? See, nothing more than a Mudblood.”

“Who would want to be a pure-blood anyway? All sorts of inbreeding. Bad for evolution.” The Doctor stuck his tongue out in a very childish manner, Draco’s ears glistened pink.

“I’ll have you know, I am a very dangerous enemy to have, Smith. Watch your manners.” Draco then turned to Ron, “Inbreeding, no wonder your whole family’s so ugly.”

“Oi!” The Doctor stood in front of Draco, eyes blazing with anger, “This is your last warning, Draco. You have no idea what I can do. Stand down while you can, or I will knock you off your tower.” Draco scoffed, but motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him away.

“John?” Hermione’s voice piped up.

“Hmm?”

“What did you mean you’re more pureblood than Malfoy? Everyone knows that his family is notoriously pureblood.”

“That doesn’t matter.” The Doctor jumped up, “TARDIS comes today!”

“What?” But Jack and the Doctor were already out the Great Hall door. The Doctor sprinted towards the room where he felt the TARDIS, and found himself staring at a mirror. Jack looked at him, 

“What is it Doc? It’s just a mirror.”

“Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.” The Doctor recited, eyes not wavering from the picture in the mirror,

“What does that mean?”

“I show not your face, but your heart’s desire.”

“What is the mirror doing, Doc?”

“It’s- It shows the observer’s deepest desire.” Jack looked at the Doctor,

“What do you-”

“G-Gallifrey. And Rose. And Donna. And-” Jack watched the boy fall to the floor. “I want to go home, Jack. I just want to go home.” Jack dropped to the Doctor’s side, dragging him away from the mirror when Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran in, clearly having tried to follow them. 

“John! I can’t believe you would-” Hermione looked at the broken Time Lord,

“What-”

“Ron! Look at this!” Harry was now staring into the mirror. 

“What?”

“It’s my parents!” 

“No. It’s not real.” The Doctor was back on his feet now, “It’s supposed to show you what you desire to see.”

“Oh.” Harry continued to stare into the mirror until Ron pushed him out of the way.

“Blimey.” He whispered, “I’m head boy!”

“What?” Hermione tried to look in the mirror too,

“And I’m holding the House Cup and the Quidditch cup – I’m Quidditch captain, too!”Hermione looked into the mirror next,

“It’s Professor Mcgonagall!” She squealed, “She’s telling me I got a perfect score on my OWLs!” They turned to the Doctor, “What did you see?”

“You said Gallifrey, you said that when we were with that three-headed dog. What is it?”

“It’s my home.” The Doctor said quietly,

“Where’s that then, Ireland?” Ron asked,

“Er, yeah.” The Doctor shrugged off the question,

Hermione finally started getting irritated with the Doctor in Charms class. “Now, don’t forget that nice wrist movement we’ve been practicing!” Squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. “Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, as well – never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said ‘s’ instead of ‘f’ and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest.” The moment Professor Flitwick finished talking, the Doctor murmured, 

“ _ Wingardium Leviosa! _ ” The feather flew across the room. 

“What really is Gallifrey?” Hermione asked suddenly,

“Hmm?” The Doctor’s feather fell out of the air as his hearts beat faster,

“I went to the library to find Gallifrey on the map of Ireland, and it wasn’t there.”

“It’s very small, you wouldn’t find it on a map.” Hermione quirked an eyebrow,

“I looked through a textbook with every town and province in Ireland. There’s nowhere called Gallifrey.”

“It doesn’t matter, Hermione.”

“Yes it does.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because you don’t make sense. How are you so powerful? Why do you keep threatening Draco? You’re just a kid, just like everyone else here. What’s your deal?” 

“Why do you care so much?”

“Because I want to know.”

“Well, you’re clever, aren’t you?” The Doctor said angrily, “Why don’t you go do your research? Figure it out.” Hermione narrowed her eyes, 

“Fine, I will.”

The Doctor watched Hermione head to the library before class, during breaks, meals, and at night. Every time he watched her leave, she would give him an angry look. “What’s up with Hermione?” Harry asked the Doctor one night as Hermione came back into the common room with a pile of books.

“I need to understand.” Hermione growled at the Doctor,

“Understand what exactly?” Ron asked,  
“What the thing with John is. Why he’s so weird, so wrong.”

“What’s so weird about him?” said Ron,

“There’s no such thing as Gallifrey, it’s literally a myth.”

“What’s the myth?” Harry asked curiously, Hermione flipped a few pages, then said,

“It’s the home of a species of gods called Time Lords. They were peaceful and turned against violence in general, having a strict policy of non-interference. They had the ability to travel through time and were nearly immortal. They were scientific and were known for incredible inventions including a time travel technology known as a Time And Relative Dimensions In Space box that was interdimensionally transcendental. One day, a rebel Time Lord wiped out the entire race to finish a war, the last great time war against an alien foe called the Daleks.” She raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, “Is this supposed to be a clue?” The Doctor snatched the book out of Hermione’s hands, it was labeled  _ Ancient Myths and Legends Lost to Time  _ by Melody Pond. The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows, who was this Melody Pond?

“I knew the myth,” The Doctor lied, “And used the name. It’s none of your business where I live.” And with that, the Doctor entered his dormitory to try to read through the book. The book itself was impossible, having information about the Eternal War and the Yssharoth. And the Time War. About the rebel Time Lord whose love for the universe lead him to commit two genocides. A tear slid down the Doctor’s face, he missed that beautiful sky.


	9. Troll in the Dungeons

On Halloween evening, the Doctor, Jack, Harry, and Ron entered the Great Hall without Hermione. With further inquiry, Ron told the Doctor she was in the library, still reading up on Gallifrey. They entered the Hall to see the beautiful decorations; a thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, just as it had at the start-of-term banquet. 

Without warning, Professor Quirrell, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he approached the Headmaster’s chair, “Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know.” He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore’s wand to bring silence.

“Prefects,” he rumbled, “lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!”

“Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now.” Percy called. The Doctor gave Jack a look from across the room,

“Where’s Hermione?” Jack asked, running across.

“Library.” The Doctor responded as he, Harry, and Ron sprinted out of the Great Hall.

Hermione was reading a book on ancient gods in mythology when the Doctor, Jack, Harry, and Ron came bursting in. “What’s going on?” She asked, quickly getting the message of urgency. 

“There’s a troll in the dungeons.” The Doctor grinned, Hermione was quickly on her feet, and the five of them hurried to the third floor where the portrait hole was, as Jack couldn’t go back to his common room because the Slytherin dormitory was in the dungeons. Then, they heard it – a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Jack pointed – at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. The Doctor gave a lopsided grin, and ran towards the noise. The troll was twelve feet tall with dull skin, a great lumpy body like a bolder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs, thick as tree trunks, with flat, horny feet. He was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were too long. It quickly spotted them, and the Doctor gave a manic grin, “Run.” The five of them sprinted, the Doctor in the lead, “We need to trap him!” Jack shouted as they ran, “Somewhere small, confined, where his size will be less of an advantage!”

“The girls bathroom!” Hermione made a sharp turn, followed by the Doctor, Jack, Harry, and Ron. The Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, buzzing it at a high setting, sending the troll to hold his hands over his ears, flailing his limbs. The Doctor ducked out of the way of the troll’s club, pushing Jack away as well. The troll suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious, “Is it – dead?” Hermione whispered, the Doctor shook his head, 

“Just unconscious.”

“Should we kill it?” Ron asked,

“No.” The Doctor said curtly.

“What is that thing?” Hermione asked, pointing at the Sonic Screwdriver that was clutched in the Doctor’s hands.

“I’ve told you: Sonic Screwdriver.”

“But how does it work exactly? Tell me everything.”

“It’s just a screwdriver that’s sonic, why does this confuse you?” 

“Sonic just means sound, you can clearly do things with your screwdriver.” The Doctor rolled his eyes,

“Sure, just take the fun out of it.” There was a sudden slamming and loud footsteps causing the five students looked up. Professor Mcgonagall came bursting in followed by Professor Quirrell and Professor Snape. Professor Snape bent over the troll, and Professor Mcgonagall looked at the Doctor, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jack. Her lips were white and she said with cold fury in her voice,

“What on earth were you thinking?” 

“We were just on our way to the Gryffindor common room when we chased by the troll.” Hermione said, quickly thinking on her feet.

“And may I ask why you didn’t follow your prefect?”

“We had to find Hermione in the library.” Jack said,

“Why were you in the library Ms. Granger?”

“I was studying.” Hermione lied,

“And what are you doing Mr. Harkness, why aren’t you in your common room?”

“There was supposedly a troll in the dungeons, so I thought it might be a better idea not to go to the common room.” Professor Mcgonagall nodded,

“Very well, I cannot take points for this, but I warn you, do not go seaking trouble.” The Doctor sent a look Jack’s way. They both knew there was no way that was going to happen.


	10. Finding Clues

The Doctor was reading in the library when the door suddenly burst open and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jack came sprinting in. “Doctor!” Jack gasped, as Hermione, Ron, and Harry cried out, “John!”

“What is it?” The Doctor was on his feat, his eyes spinning around the room in search of a threat.

“Snape bewitched Harry’s broom!” Ron burst out.

“How do you know it was Professor Snape?” 

“We saw him!” Hermione said, “You need to keep eye-contact when you cast a jinx, and Snape wasn’t blinking.” The Doctor gave a slight nod, so Jack asked,

“What are we going to do about it?”

“Alright, motivation, what does he want?” The Doctor asked reasonably.

“Whatever was in the vault.” Harry said confidently.

“What vault?” The Doctor asked,

“When Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley, we went to Gringotts and we went to my vault for money,” He explained, “then we went to another vault, vault 713. It had a small package, and Hagrid took it, said it was ‘Hogwarts business.’”

“Do you think that’s what the three-headed dog was guarding?” Hermione asked

“Must be.” The Doctor nodded, “But what is it?” 

“I think we should talk to Hagrid.” Hermione suggested.

“I agree,” The Doctor nodded, “if anyone knows about the Cerberus, it’s him.”

“Um, excuse me, what do you mean the dog was guarding something?” Jack asked, still a step behind.

“Under the Cerberus’ feet was a trapdoor. Now, let’s go talk to Hagrid, Allons-y!” The five of the ran off to Hagrid’s cabin.

“‘Ello.” Hagrid smiled as they knocked on his cabin door. The Doctor smiled up at him, then said,

“I was wondering what you know of the species of Cerberus?”

“Cerberus? Why’d you wanna know?”

“Because we thought you’d have the experience, and I was curious.” Hagrid raised an eyebrow.

“Well, interesting species, they are.” He said, “ _ Very _ rare.”

“Well, you would know.”

“What’re you suggestin’, John?” 

“Ejectus said you spoke to him.”

“Ejuctes?”

“That massive three-headed dog on the third floor?”

“How d’ yeh know abou’ Fluffy?”

“Fluffy? Is that what you call him?” The Doctor gave Hagrid an amused look.

“Yeh? Why? What did yeh mean Ejuctes?”

“Ejuctus is his name.”

“How d’ yeh know that?”

“He told me, anyway, why do you even have a Cerberus up there? They’re incredibly dangerous.”

“Listen, forget the dog. Whatever’s there is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.”

“Aha!” Harry cried, and the Doctor gave a mischievous grin.

“I shouldn' have said that. I should not have said that.” Hagrid cursed at himself, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jack, and the Doctor went running back towards the castle.

They hurried back to the castle, and back to the third floor. The Doctor unlocked the room, and they were met once again with Ejuctus.  _ I told you not to return, Time Lord. _ Ejuctus growled angrily,

“I’m here to warn you!” The Doctor responded,

_ About what? _

“We fear a man may try to break into wherever you’re guarding.”

_ Who may this man be? _

“We are unsure. We suspect one, Severus Snape, though that is not guaranteed. I just beg you not to let your guard down.”

_ I guarantee that I am fully capable of my main task. But I shall keep a closer eye out for visitors. _

“Thank you.”

_ This is not for you. _

“I know.”

Christmas quickly was approaching. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Professor Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the story sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. Harry, Ron, Jack, and the Doctor were all staying over the holidays, but Hermione was going home. 

“We’ll do some research on Nicolas Flamel.” The Doctor assured her

“Alright then,” She gave a grin, “Happy Christmas.” She walked out of the Great Hall.

 

On Christmas Day, the Doctor arose from his bed only to find two small, wrapped presents at the foot of his bed. His eyes widened and he nearly fell off the bed. He’d never got a Christmas present before. Harry and Ron were waking up as well, and Harry cried out, “I’ve got presents!” 

“What were you expecting, turnips?” said Ron, turning to his own pile, which looked like Harry’s pile and the Doctor’s pile combined. Then, Ron looked at the Doctor, “What’s wrong with you?”  
“I’ve never actually got a Christmas present before.” The Doctor admitted, watching as Harry grabbed the very first present on the top of his pile. It was wrapped in thick, brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. It was a beautiful carved flute that, when he blew into it, sounded like an owl. 

“Look at this.” Harry said, “Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon sent me a present.” It was a piece of paper with a fifty-pence piece. “That’s friendly.” He laughed, but Ron was fascinated by the Muggle money. 

“Weird.” He said, “What a shape! This is  _ money _ ?”

“You can keep it.” Harry laughed,

“Oh no.” Ron said suddenly, staring at Harry and the Doctor,

“What?” The Doctor asked, 

“My mum. I told her you two didn’t expect any presents and – oh, no,” He groaned, pointing to two parsels, “she’s made you Weasley sweaters.” The Doctor and Harry each opened the packages to find a thick, hand knitted sweater. Harry’s was emerald, and the Doctor’s was a deep orange. Inside the parcel, both the Doctor and Harry found a large box of homemade fudge. The Doctor smiled, holding the sweater in his hands. “Every year she makes us a sweater,” said Ron, unwrapping his own, “and mine’s  _ always _ maroon.”

“That’s really nice of her.” Harry said, already eating his fudge, the Doctor was quiet, touched by the gesture. The Doctor picked up his final present, Harry picked up the very same package. They both opened it, to find it was from Hermione. It was a large box of chocolate frogs. The Doctor looked at Harry’s last parcel that Harry was opening. Harry opened it to find a silky cloak. The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned it.

“Oh!” He grinned, “That’s brilliant!” 

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“It’s an invisibility cloak made from the hair of the Sleepers of the Invisible Chasm in the Isle of Angels on Tenebris. ”

“What?” Ron and Harry both said, 

“It’s an invisablilty cloak. It makes you invisible whenever you’re under it.”

“Woah. Who sent it?” Ron asked. Harry seized the letter, and written on it was,

 

_ Your father left this in my possession before _

_ he died. It is time it was returned to you. _

_ Use it well. _

_ A Very Merry Christmas to you. _

 

There was no signature. Before anyone could say anything, Fred and George came bounding in.

“Merry Christmas!” Fred said,

“Hey,  look – Harry and John have both got Weasley sweaters too!” George said. Fred and George both were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F, and the other a G.

“Harry’s and John’s are better than ours though,” Fred observed, “She obviously makes more of an effort if you’re not family.”

“Why aren’t you wearing yours, Ron?” George demanded, “Come on, get it on, they’re lovely and warm.”

“I hate maroon,” Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head. 

“You two haven’t got letters on yours.” George observed, “I suppose she thinks you don’t forget your name. But we’re not stupid – we know we’re called Gred and Forge.” The Doctor grinned.

“What’s all this noise?” Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door disapprovingly. He had clearly gotten halfway through his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred immediately seized,

“P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we’re all wearing ours, even Harry and John have one.”

“I – don’t – want –” said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

“And you’re not sitting with the prefects today, either,” said George. “Christmas is a time for family.” They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.


	11. An Attempted Discovery

Christmas evening, Ron had fallen asleep the moment he hit the bed, but the Doctor and Harry both were sitting in the dormitory. The Doctor jumped up from his bed, scattering the books that rested on it. “Let’s go to the library.”

“What? We’ll get in trouble.”

“Since when has that stopped us. Plus,” He sent Harry a manic grin, “They can’t stop us if they can’t see us.”

Harry’s eyes lit up, as he remembered his invisibility cloak. 

The two boys headed down to the library to look for books about Nicolas Flamel. After an hour of searching the Doctor made a decision. “Let’s go back to the TARDIS.”

“TARDIS. You said that before, was that what the mirror is called?” Harry asked.

“No, the big, blue police box that was next to it. Allons-y.” They returned to where the TARDIS rested, and the Doctor unlocked the door, “Stay out here.” He instructed, not quite sure he wanted anyone in the TARDIS yet. He closed the door behind him, and ran to the data banks. The Gallifreyan words flashed before his eyes as the information ran through his head. He nodded understandingly, and made his way out of the TARDIS.

“So, who’s this Nicolas Flamel?” Harry asked as the Doctor emerged from the box.

“Nicolas Flamel is a well known alchemist and the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone, which is a legendary substance with immortal properties. He was known to be close friend with Professor Dumbledore and owed his considerable age to the Elixir of Life that he and his wife made from the stone.” Harry stared at him.

“What’s in the police box?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Hermione seems to think it does.”

“Well, it doesn’t. Anyway, Ejuctus definitely isn’t the only thing protecting the stone. We need to figure out what else is there.”

“Wait, are we stealing it?”

“No, just protecting it. If someone’s trying to steal it, the TARDIS will be the perfect place. The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn’t get through those doors, and believe me, they’ve tried.”

Hermione returned a day before the term started, “Did you find anything out about Nicolas Flamel?” She asked as the five of them sat down for breakfast.

“Yes.” The Doctor said, relaying the information he had given to Harry. Hermione nodded, letting the information soak up.

“That’s got to be what the dog’s after. What book did you find it in? Maybe we could get some more information.”

“No, that’s all that was there.” 

The Doctor watched Harry pull Hermione aside, clearly thinking they were far out of earshot from the Doctor.

“He got the information from that police box in the room with the mirror.” Harry said,

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked,

“We went to the room with the mirror, and he said we were going to the TARDIS, he said that was what the box was called, and he told me to wait outside, he unlocked it, and then he went inside. He was gone for only a minute, then came out. I haven’t a clue what he’s got in there, but I think he’s hiding something.”

“I think so too. Tonight we’ll take the cloak. We need to know what he’s hiding.”

“Alright, meet me in the common area at midnight.”

At midnight, the Doctor waited next to the TARDIS as Harry and Hermione made their way to him. They were whispering as they entered under the cloak, pulling off as they shut the door behind them, then Hermione saw the Doctor. She jumped violently, “John!” She squealed in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

“I have very good hearing.” The Doctor’s voice was no longer cheerful and bright, but dark, serious.

“You can’t expect us not to look into this, John,” Hermione said, walking over to the TARDIS, but the Doctor grabbed her arm,

“I told you to drop it. There are some things you just aren’t prepared to handle.”

“You think I can’t handle this? I’m just as old as you are!” The Doctor stared into Hermione’s eyes,

“No.” Hermione ran over to the TARDIS,

“Alohomora!” She cried, and tried to open the door, but it stayed shut tight, “He must have a protective charm.” She called to Harry, but the Doctor walked up to her, a dangerous anger flashed across his eyes,

“Go.” Hermione and Harry ran, grabbing the cloak on the way out.

Hermione refused to talk to the Doctor for the next week, but as she had more on her mind, she often forgot to ignore him. She had began to create study schedules and colour-coded her notes. The Doctor wouldn’t have minded, but Hermione kept nagging him to do the same.

“Hermione, I don’t need to study.”

“Yes you do, if you want to pass your exams.” Hermione said, 

“Come on, that’s ages away.” Ron said, “Lay off it.”

“Ten weeks.” Hermione snapped, “That’s not ages, that’s like a second to Nicolas Flamel.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” The Doctor said,

“Oh, what would you know?” Hermione rolled her eyes,

“Hagrid!” Harry said suddenly, and the Doctor spun around to see the half-giant, “What are you doing in the library?” Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back,

“Jus’ lookin’,” He said in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. “An’ what’re you lot up ter?” He looked suddenly suspicious. “Yer not still lookin’ fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?”

“Oh, I found that ages ago.” The Doctor said, “And we now know what  Ejuctes is protecting.” 

“There’s a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact,” Harry said, “about what’s guarding the Stone apart from Ejuctes –”

“Shhhh!” The Doctor and Hagrid both hushed him, 

“Listen,” Hagrid said to the students, “come ‘an see me later, I’m not promisin’ I’ll tell yeh anythin’, mind, but don’ go rabbitin’ about it in here, students aren’ s’pposed ter know. They’ll think I’ve told yeh–”

“Your secret is safe with us.”


	12. Centaurs

An hour later, the Doctor, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jack, whom they had brought along without explanation, knocked on the door of Hagrid’s cabin. All the curtains were closed. “Who is it?” Hagrid called,

“It’s us!” Harry called. Hagrid quickly opened the door, let them in, then quickly shut it again. Inside it was stiflingly hot. It was a warm day to begin with, but there was a blazing fire in the grate. 

“So – yeh wanted to ask me somethin’?” Hagrid asked, 

“Yes.” The Doctor said, “We were wondering if you might be able to tell us what’s guarding the Philosopher’s Stone apart from Ejuctes.” Hagrid frowned,

“O’ course I can’t,” He said, “Number one, I don’ know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn’ tell yeh if I could. The Stone’s here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts – I s’ppose yeh’ve worked that out an’ all? Beats me how yeh even know abou’ Fluffy–”

“Ejuctes.” The Doctor corrected.

“Whatever yeh want.”

“Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you  _ do _ know, you know everything that goes on round here.” Hermione said in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid’s beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling.

“We only wondered who had  _ done _ the guarding, really.” Jack added, “We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you.” Hagrid had broken into a full grin, and said,

“Well, I don’ s’pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that… let’s see… he borrowed Fluffy–or Ejuctes–or whatever from me… then some o’ the teachers did enchantments… Professor Sprout – Professor Flitwick – Professor McGonagall –” He ticked them off on his fingers, “Professor Quirrell – an’ Dumbledore himself did somethin’ o’ course. Hang on, I’ve forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape.”

“ _ Snape? _ ” Harry, Hermione, Jack, and Ron gasped, the Doctor rolled his eyes, not entirely sure about that hypothesis at this point, he saw no more data towards it. And even if Professor Dumbledore was a bit mad, the Doctor trusted his staffing choices.

“You’re the only one who knows how to get past Ejuctes, aren’t you, Hagrid?” Harry said anxiously, “And you wouldn’t tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?”

“Not a soul knows except me an’ Dumbledore.” Hagrid said proudly, 

“Well, that’s something,” Harry muttered, “Hagrid, can we have a window open? I’m boiling.”

“Can’t, Harry, sorry.” Hagrid said, and the Doctor noticed him glance to the fire.

“Hagrid – what’s  _ that? _ ” Hermione asked, as the Doctor approached the fire. Inside was a kettle that inside had a large, black egg. The Doctor looked back to Hagrid, grinning,

“Oh, that’s brilliant. Where’d you get it? They’re illegal ‘round here, aren’t they?”

“Won it.” Hagrid admitted, “Las’ night. I was down in the village havin’ a few drinks an’ got into a game o’ cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest.”

“How’re you going to hide it when it’s older? They prefer wide open spaces, but I suppose the forest would work I suppose…” Hagrid nodded,

“Well, I’ve bin doin’ some readin’,” he said, pulling a large book from under his pillow, “Got this outta the library –  _ Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit _ – it’s a bit outta date, o’ course, but it’s all in here. Keep the egg on the fire, ‘cause their mothers breath on ‘em, see, an’ when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o’ brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An’ see here – how ter recognize diff’rent eggs – what I got there’s a Norwegian Ridgeback. They’re rare, them.”

“Hagrid, you live in a  _ wooden house. _ ” Hermione said, but Hagrid wasn’t listening.

“Hagrid.” The Doctor’s small arm grabbed his enormous one, Hagrid looked at him, “When it’s hatching, tell me.” Hagrid nodded,

“I’ll let yeh know.”

One breakfast, the Doctor got a letter, on it was two words,  _ It’s hatching. _ “We can’t skip Herbology.” Hermione said, but the Doctor didn’t want to hear it. 

“He’ll need our help. You can go to class, but there’s nothing you can do to stop me from going.” Naturally, Harry, Ron, and Jack wanted to come. Hermione refused, and went to Herbology. 

They arrived at Hagrid’s cabin to see the egg with cracks running through it. About thirty minutes later, Hermione came running down. “I told Professor Sprout that I wasn’t feeling well.” She admitted, and they sat down, watching the egg. 

All at once, there was a  scraping noise and the egg split open. A baby dragon flopped onto the table. The Doctor smiled at it, “Hello there.” He smiled at it, though it didn’t understand because it was a baby. It sneezed and a couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

“Isn’t he  _ beautiful _ ?” Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon’s head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs. “Bless him, he knows his mummy!” Hagrid grinned.

“What’s her name?”

“Her?” The Doctor nodded, 

“She’s a her.”

“Oh. I dunno know then.” 

“How about Meseg.”

“Er, nah.”

“Zyrid?”

“Neh.”

“Zoigedunth? Ersyr? Qiphssi? Rirlinailth?” Hagrid shook his head for each one of them,

“Don’t you know any normal names?” Ron asked, the Doctor shrugged,

“Normal is relative. These are names originally from the planet Otharro in the system of Ykinol. That’s the home of the dragons, where they came from.”

“Er – okay.” Hagrid said, “But what about normal names, like Norbert?”

“What about Scheherazade? That’s arabic. From Earth. Normal.” Hagrid nodded,

“Scheherazade. I like that.” 

After a week, the Doctor managed to convince Hagrid to let Scheherazade to live out in the forest. He and Hagrid visited her every night, though Harry, Ron, Jack, and Hermione didn’t come nearly as often. But with the frequient time with Hagrid, came information about what protections the teachers had placed on the stone. As it turned out, each teacher had a seperate room, inside of which there were separate trials. The first one being Devils Snare. One night, Hagrid had asked for his help, and the Doctor quickly agreed, glad someone took him seriously in this child form. “Is that unicorn blood?” The Doctor asked as Hagrid led him to a puddle of a silver, sticky substance.

“Yeah, it is. I found one dead last Wednesday. I need to try to find the poor thing. We may need to put it out of its misery.” The Doctor nodded, and they began to move. Suddenly, there was a rustling, and Hagrid aimed his crossbow, and cried out, “Who’s there? Show yerself – I’m armed.” Then, into the clearing, a centaur emerged. “Oh, it’s you, Ronan,” Hagrid said in relief, “How are yeh?”

“Good evening to you, Hagrid,” Said Ronan, his voice was deep and sorrowful. “Were you going to shoot me?”

“Can’t be too careful, Ronan,” Said Hagrid, patting his crossbow, “There’s summat bad loose in this forest. This here is John Smith, clever chap. The Doctor extended his wrist to Ronan in the traditional centaur greeting. Ronan returned the greeting, placing his hand on the Doctor’s forearm, and the Doctor taking his.

“Doctor, Time Lord, last of.” The Doctor introduced himself, as was traditional to extend one’s wrist, and when introducing yourself first, you would extend your wrist first. He knew the centaurs were trustworthy, and they knew who he was.

“It is an honor to meet you, Doctor.”

“And I am honored to meet you, Ronan.”

“May I ask what you’re doing here?”

“I have recently come into contact with an unfortunate weapon with de-ageing properties.”

“I see, are you in need for a remedy? We would be honored to have you in our medical center.”

“No, I have resolved my dilemma, though it takes time.” Ronan nodded his head and looked to the sky,

“Mars is bright tonight.”

“So it is, unusually so.” The Doctor observed, as he had studied the stars at the Academy. There was a rustling behind Ronan again, and another centaur emerged.

“Bane, may I be so honored to introduce the Doctor, Time Lord, last of.” The Doctor extended his wrist again, and Bane took it,

“It is an honor to meet you, Doctor.”

“We were just discussing the unusual brightness of Mars tonight.” Bane looked to the sky,

“So it is.”

“We’d best be off. We have been on the look for a creature who has injured a unicorn.” The Doctor informed them, The two centaurs nodded, bowed, then exited once the Doctor had bowed back.

“Er – What was that?” Hagrid asked the Doctor, who turned around,

“I will only tell you if you are bound to secrecy. You must not tell a soul.” Hagrid nodded,

“I swear.”

“I am a Time Lord, that’s my species. I am from the planet Gallifrey.”

“You’re an alien?”

“Yes, but I’m one of the nice ones. I have saved Earth over and over again. I’m in a sort of waiting period, and thought I could pass the time at Hogwarts. By the end of the year, I’ll be gone.”  It wasn’t the entire story, but the Doctor decided that was all Hagrid needed to know. 

“So it’s reasonable to assume yer not eleven years old?” The Doctor laughed,

“Yeah, I’m probably, what, a thousand years old? Can’t really remember to be honest.”

“Oh.” Hagrid took the whole thing surprisingly well, probably thanks to knowing so many different creatures.

“Do Ron, Harry, Hermione, an’ Jack know?”

“Jack knows, but you can not tell Harry, Ron, or Hermione.” Hagrid nodded and they continued on their way. 

They had been walking for thirty-seven minutes and fifty-four seconds when they found a bloody unicorn laying on the rocks. The Doctor rushed over to assist it, but it was already dead. Suddenly, a bush quivered and out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground. The Doctor stepped back, motioning for Hagrid to do the same. Hagrid stepped back, reaching for his crossbow, but the Doctor placed his hand on it, signing f to keep it down. Suddenly, the creature began to drink the unicorn blood.

“Who are you?” The Doctor asked, and the figure raised its head and looked right at the Doctor, getting to its feet, it began to come closer. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, he scanned, and a dark energy pulsed through the sonic. Grabbing his wand, he cried out, “ _ Stupify! _ ” But the being quickly flicked away the spell with their own wand. Then, a red light came flying at the Doctor. One he recognized. He didn’t bother try the protective charm, for he knew it wouldn’t be of use. As much as he had been expecting and tensing for the pain, it still didn’t prepare him. The pain shot through his body, and with a scream, he hit the ground. Once again, he was sure he was about to regenerate, but the pain continued. Whoever this was, they were about a thousand times stronger than Draco. He writhed upon the ground as the pain coursed through his small body. Suddenly, everything was dimming and the Doctor fell unconscious.

The Doctor awoke on the ground, though not on the dirt. He was on a large, flat rock in a shelter of sorts next to a large, grey centaur. “Hello, Time Lord, we are honored to have you in our medical center. I am pleased to see you awake.” The centaur extended a wrist, and the Doctor took it, “I am Adall, son of Ixion and Nephele.” The centaur said.

“I’m the Doctor, Time Lord, last of.” He tried to sit up. He ached all over, and compromised with his body by leaning on a nearby rock. The grey centaur whispered to a smaller centaur beside him, and the centaur nodded, hurrying out. Then, a large centaur with long, dark hair and high-cheekbones with a proud look entered, and motioned for the Adall to leave. “Hello.” The Doctor extended his wrist, the centaur took it, “I’m the Doctor, Time Lord, last of.”

“I have been informed of who you are.” The centaur said, “I am Magorian, brother of Adall, son of Ixion and Nephele, leader of the tribe.” The Doctor nodded deeply,

“I am honored.”

“As am I, Doctor.”

“Would you be so kind as to inform me of what has happened?” The Doctor asked sheepishly,

“How much do you remember?”

“I fell unconscious with the attack from a wizard.” Magorian nodded,

“Firenze found you in the forest and brought you to our medical center. You were out for approximately six hours.”

“That’ll be a minor healing coma.” The Doctor admitted, “Though I must make it back to the castle by morning.” Magorian nodded,

“You will be escorted back to the ground whenever you wish. If you wish, I can get Sejeharm to give you a tour of our village.” The Doctor smiled,

“That would be lovely.” Magorian stepped outside and got another centaur to go inform Sejeharm, who hurried inside, 

“Time Lord, it is an honor to meet you.” She said, extending her wrist. The Doctor took it, then stood up. The centaur village was beautiful. It was coated in vines that looked like they were trimmed often, and it was decorated with flowers and plants. The houses were small, but cozy. He was approached by many centaurs, and he was happy to meet them, especially the children. They showered him with gifts, one being a small Kalimba. Traditionally, in Gallifreyan tradition at least, when presented with a musical instrument, you would play it. So the Doctor sat down, surrounded by the children, and began to play. It was a song from Gallifrey, one he heard many times as a child. The light sound of the Kalimba rung out through the forest. He finished, and the centaur children made the centaur noise of applause which was something between a purr and a cheer. For the first time in a long time, the Doctor felt like he was home.


	13. Through the Trapdoor

The Doctor eventually had to return to the school to make his morning classes. Today, they had Defence Against the Dark Arts first with the Slytherins, so the Doctor told Jack everything that happened. “You can’t stay there.”

“Why not?”

“The universe needs you, Doc.”

“Why can’t I have a place to call home? Why not? I have a right to a home.”

“Don’t they hunt, don’t they use spears and weapons?”

“You think Gallifreyans didn’t have weapons?”

“Gallifrey has nothing to do with this. You left the moment you could.” The Doctor looked affronted,

“It’s not like you would understand. You’ve always had a home.”

“You think I don’t understand?” Jack stood up, “I can’t die. I outlive everyone. It’s not a home. It’s a hell.”

“You don’t know what hell is like.” The Doctor growled.

“You’ll know all about it soon enough, you’re going there..” Jack walked away from the fuming Doctor who then placed his hands over his face. At the mentions of the Time War, he’d gotten pictures thrown about in his mind, pictures he’d prefer locked away.

Once exams were done, there was a calmness in the castle. “Okay.” Hermione finally said, “What’s up with you an Jack?”

“Nothing.”

“No, seriously, what’s wrong with you two?” Ron asked.

“He stepped out of line.” The Doctor said firmly.

“What’d he say?” Hermione asked, probably hoping to get some more insight on the Doctor.  
“Doesn’t matter.” The Doctor dismissed it with a sigh.

“You say that about a lot of things.” Harry said observantly.

“Why do you have so many secrets, John?” Hermione asked. The Doctor shrugged.

 

One evening, the Doctor heard an alarmed sound spike through him: it was Ejectus. It was a warning; someone was trying to get through the trapdoor. The Doctor ran to Harry and Ron, waking the two of them up, and he ran to Hermione’s dorm, waking her as well.  “What’s going on?” She whispered in alarm, 

“Someone’s trying to steal the Stone, we’ve got to go.” Hermione, Harry, and Ron were off,

“Should we get Jack?” Hermione asked, as much as the Doctor didn’t want to, he knew he should, so nodded, and they ran to the dungeons, grabbed Jack, and ran back to the third floor. They hurried in to find Ejectus asleep, a harp was playing. The five of them hurried to the trapdoor. There was no ladder, no staircase, so the Doctor just flashed a manic grin and called,

“Allons-y!” And jumped in, quickly followed by a trusting Jack, then Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They fell for three seconds before landing on something soft, Devil’s Snare, the Doctor remembered, and immediately whispered, “ _ Lumos Maxima. _ ” The vines immediately slid back and the five students fell to the hard, rock ground. The continued in silence, entering a room full of fluttering keys. The Doctor looked up, then looked at the door ahead of them. It required an old fashioned key, but there wasn’t one in sight. He concluded that whoever had come first must have taken the key. So he walked over, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, thanking Rassilon that wizards hadn’t discovered deadlocks yet. The next chamber was so dark that only the Doctor could see, but as they stepped into it, light flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight. They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard. The Doctor grinned. “Oh brilliant!” 

They began to play across the board, easily dominating, as the Time Lords had invented chess. They approached another chamber, feeling confident. A large troll lay unconscious on the floor, clearly already knocked out by whoever came through first. They pulled open the next door, and inside was a table with seven different shaped bottles standing in a line. When they stepped through the threshold, a purple fire sprang up behind them in the doorway and black flames in the doorway they needed to go through continue.  “Finally, a real challenge.” The Doctor picked up a piece of parchment and began to read aloud; 

 

“ _ Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, _

_ Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, _

_ One among us seven will let you move ahead, _

_ Another will transport the drinker back instead, _

_ Two among our number hold only nettle wine, _

_ Three among of us are killers, waiting, hidden in line. _

_ Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore, _

_ To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: _

_ First, however slyly the poison tries to hide _

_ You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side; _

_ Second, different are those who stand at either end, _

_ But if you would move onward, neither is your friend; _

_ Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, _

_ Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; _

_ Fourth, the second left and the second on the right _

_ Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.” _

 

The Doctor then made a pouty face, “Aww, I expected this to be a challenge.” He grabbed two bottles. One was a small bottle with only enough liquid for one person. The other was a rounded bottle almost filled to the brim. He handed it to Jack, “This will take you four back.”

“No way, we’re coming with you.” Hermione said, the Doctor held up the small bottle, 

“Not enough for everyone, sorry.”

“I’ll go.” Harry said bravely.

“Nope.” The Doctor said, popping the ‘p’ and downing the potion, shuttering at the cold, 

“See you back at the dorm.” He grinned, and he ran through the black fire, much to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jack’s dismay.

The Doctor walked into the last chamber. “Oh, you.” The Doctor looked the man in the eyes, “I should have known.”


	14. The Philosopher's Stone

Professor Quirrell stood in the clearing, grinning like a maniac. “Hello, Time Lord.”

“How do you know of me?” The Doctor demanded, stepping forwards.

“Oh, word gets around. But also, my master could feel your power. You are just bursting with it, something he would like very much.” The professor snapped his fingers and ropes sprung out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around the Doctor. Professor Quirrell then turned to the mirror of Erised behind him, whispering, “I see the Stone… I’m presenting it to my master… but where is it?” 

“You know, I’d love to meet this master of yours.” The Doctor said.

“Oh I bet you would. But even the might of a Time Lord is no match for my master.”

“Where is he?”

“He is wherever I go. I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it…”

“I’ll concede that there’s no good or evil,” The Doctor said, “But power isn’t what’s measured. It’s love. There are entire solar systems that use sentimental value as a currency. I’ve yet to travel to one who measure in power.” Professor Quirrell’s confidence wavered, but continued as if he hadn’t heard the Doctor.

“Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me. He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the Stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me… decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me…” Professor Quirrell’s voice trailed away as he turned back to the mirror, “I don’t understand.” He said, “Is the Stone  _ inside _ the mirror? Should I break it? Help me master.” Suddenly, a chilling icy voice whispered,

“Use the Time Lord… use the Time Lord…” Professor Quirrell rounded on the Doctor, 

“Yes, come here.” He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding the Doctor fell off. “Come.” Professor Quirrell repeated, “Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.” The Doctor stepped in front of the mirror. The mirror-Doctor placed his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a blood-red stone. It grinned and placed the Stone back into his pocket. As he did so, the Doctor felt the weight of the Stone drop into his pocket. 

“Well?” Professor Quirrell said impatiently, “What do you see?”

“Gallifrey.” The Doctor lied, “My home. My children. My grandchildren. Susan.” The Doctor had to admit that the lie was good. The use of the name seemed to convince the Professor that he hadn’t been lying. And after all, that had been what he saw the first time.

“He has the Stone!” Voldemort cried out, Quirrell lunged at him, the Doctor rolled out of the way just in time. 

“Quirinus!” The Doctor called, “Please, you know you are good inside. You cannot do this. The universe doesn’t care about power.”

“Easy for you to say, Time Lord!” Professor Quirrell said,

“No, I know this because no matter how much power I have, I always lose!” Professor Quirrell froze,

“What?”

“The Time War, my planet, my friends, my–” The Doctor choked on the sentence, Rose burning throughout his mind, “Everything. I always lose.” Quirrell sunk down on the floor.

“Please.” He begged, his voice no louder than a whisper, “Help me.” So the Doctor did the only thing he could do, he placed his fingers on the professor’s temples and pulled Voldemort out of his mind and into the Doctor’s. He then began to break it down, it began to shatter, splitting into fractures of dark magic, then, like an explosion, it disappeared from the Doctor’s mind.

“He’ll be back.” The Doctor realized aloud, then fell to the floor, unconscious.


	15. A Wave Hello to a New Adventure

The Time War raged in the Doctor’s mind, when suddenly his eyes jumped open only to find a concerned Professor Dumbledore above him, “Sorry to wake you, Mr. Smith. You were screaming.” The Doctor sat up.

“Yeah, brilliant, thanks.” He slid his hand into his pocket, only to find that the Stone wasn’t there. He looked at Professor Dumbledore who smiled kindly,

“The Stone has been destroyed.” The Doctor nodded,

“Rightly so.” Looking around, the Doctor realized he was in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets. “Professor,” He said, “Voldemort will return.”

“I am aware.”

“Good. Continue to keep an eye on Hogwarts, and on Harry. I fear Voldemort has a personal grudge. I expect you know what his scar is.”

“Yes I do, now, I have a question for you, John Smith.”

“Ask away.”

“Who are you?”

“Oh, a bit of a nobody.”

“I do not believe that for a second.” The Doctor looked into the Headmaster’s eyes, wisdom was held, but so was recklessness, desire, so he just said,

“I am a protector of Earth. You ever need a hand, send me a message.” He handed Professor Dumbledore a small box he had pulled out of his jacket, “Put your letter in there, and it will find me.” The Doctor had made it a long time ago, it connected to the psychic paper. Professor Dumbledore nodded,

“I will.” 

 

Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict. “Just five minutes.” The Doctor pleaded, 

“Absolutely not.”

“You let the headmaster in.”

“Yes, because he’s the headmaster! You need rest.”  
“I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey.”

“Oh, very well,” She said, “But five minutes  _ only _ .” She let Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jack in. 

“Doc!” Jack sprinted up to him, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“What happened?” Hermione asked,

The Doctor explained to them what happened, Hermione was the first to talk, “Why did he want you though? Why are you so special?” The Doctor hesitated,

“I’m a Time Lord.”

“Bit pompas, isn’t it?” Ron said, and the Doctor laughed, then, Madam Pomfrey bustled back in, 

“You’ve had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT,” she said firmly,

“I’ll explain it to you later.” The Doctor said,

“Promise?” Harry asked.

“Promise.”

 

The Doctor managed to convince Madam Pomfrey to let him go to the feast, but first, he had another visiter. Hagrid came hurrying in, he sat down next to the Doctor and burst into tears, “It’s – all – my – ruddy – fault!” he sobbed, “I told the evil git how ter get past Ejectus. I told him! It was the only thing he didn’t know an’ I told him! Yeh could’ve died! All fer a dragon egg! I should be chucked out an’ made ter live as a Muggle!”

“Hagrid, you saved his life.”

“What?” Hagrid looked up,

“Ejectus would have killed him. And if he hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have been able to save him. You saved his life.” 

“Really?” Hagrid looked up with the kind hope in his eyes that the Doctor so admired about humans,

“Really.”

“I brought you a gift.” Hagrid pulled out a package from within his pockets, inside was a small mirror. Hagrid held another one,

“I don’ know if yeh’ll ever be back, yeh said yeh’d be leavin’, so if yeh need anythin’, yeh just need to look into this and I’ll be there.”

“Thank you.” The Doctor smiled, tears glistening in his eyes.

 

Gryffindor won the house cup, and the exam results soon returned. As expected, the Doctor had gotten a perfect score on everything except History of Magic, though that wasn’t his fault if they were mistaken on their own history. The Doctor, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Jack gathered one night in the Gryffindor common room. “So, Time Lord. What’s that, then?” Hermione asked,

“I’m an alien.” The Doctor said awkwardly.

“And Gallifrey is…” Harry prompted,

“My planet.” 

“What about the TARDIS?” Ron asked, “What’s that?” 

“She’s my spaceship. T-A-R-D-I-S, Time And Relative Dimension In Space.”

“She travels in space and time?” Hermione gasped,

“Yes she does.”

“Can we go somewhere?” Harry asked, the Doctor smiled, “Maybe one day. But you are needed here and now.”

“He’s usually late.” Jack grinned, and the Doctor elbowed him playfully in the ribs. 

 

The Doctor found himself waving his friends goodbye with Jack by his side, as the TARDIS was at the castle.

“Don’t stay away too long.” Hermione hugged him.

“Yeah, stop by my house for a visit. My mum would be happy to have you around, so would I. She’s much nicer around guests.” The Doctor laughed,

“I’ll do my best. Maybe I’ll stop by for Christmas.”

“Can I come with you?” Harry looked up at the Doctor, who smiled,

“Wait in the garden tomorrow at 7pm. I’ll be there, and we’ll go somewhere amazing.”

The last place the Doctor decided to go was back to the forest, where he returned to the Centaur Village to say goodbye. As much as he hated to say goodbye, Jack was right. The universe needed him. But he left them a gift. It was a music box for the children that would play Gallifreyan songs. “I will come back.” He promised the children, “But keep this as a reminder to not to give up your own traditions, but also never be afraid to accept new ones.” The children nodded, “You are the future of this tribe, you will all be leaders one day. Don’t forget the lessons taught.”

 

The Doctor and Jack retreated to the TARDIS, and soon began to re-age. As much as they had enjoyed the second childhood, it was wonderful to be back to their proper bodies and sizes. The now-adult Doctor began to run around the TARDIS console, “Oh, I missed you too.” He grinned, flicking switches and twisting knobs. They materialized in the Dursley’s garden right on schedule. The Doctor opened the door to see Harry gaping at him, then looked down at the flowers now crushed underneath the TARDIS.

“Aunt Petunia isn’t going to be happy about her orchids."


End file.
